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2002 Resolutions RESOLUTION # 1 WHEREAS, The nursing profession has a long history of responding selflessly to local, regional, national and global emergencies; and, WHEREAS, Emergencies and disasters are unpredictable and disaster responsiveness requires coordination of services and an available and reliable volunteer nurse corp; and WHEREAS, Recent experiences with mass casualty disasters demonstrated a number of pervasive systems barriers to effective coordination of nursing's response; and WHEREAS, Appropriate education and continuing education and continued regarding patient care and safety, personal safety and appropriate organizational response are necessary for nurses to provide safe, quality care under these most critical and stressful circumstances, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses Association will: 1. Will provide leadership among nursing organizations to develop nursing's response to disaster events. 2. Promote the participation of registered nurses in the planning and implementation of disaster preparedness at the local and state level. 3. Promote education and training to heighten awareness to threats of weapons of mass distribution. 4. Promote workplace initiatives that support nurse volunteer efforts during periods of local, state, and federal emergencies and disasters. 5. Promote public education about disaster preparedness and response.
RESOLUTION #2
Submitted by INA Resolutions Committee WHEREAS, There are two primary purposes of a state's nurse practice act; to protect the public health and to license the qualified practitioners of nursing, and WHEREAS, The public's knowledge and understanding of nursing and nursing practice has been hindered by a variety of societal and professional forces leading to ongoing confusion regarding nursing roles, and WHEREAS, This confusion of the public is compounded when the title "nurse" is incorporated into job titles for unlicensed personnel, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses' Association will: 1. Urge professional nurses and others in administrative roles (including physician offices) to avoid using "nurses" as any part of the job/position title when developing position descriptions for unlicensed personnel. 2. Support legislative or regulatory activity to limit use of the title "nurse" in addition to professional and technical titles specifically protected in the state Nurse Practice Act.
RESOLUTION #3
Submitted by the INA Resolutions Committee WHEREAS, There has been such an increase in the use of unlicensed assistive personnel in procedures such as: medication administration in community-based settings, prisons, and schools; care of the developmentally disabled; home care for ventilator dependent patients; and care for school children including tracheal suctioning and parenteral feedings, and WHEREAS, There is a new and more severe nursing shortage occurring in the nation, and WHEREAS, There is a lack of consistency in competency requirements, education and titling of the unlicensed assistive personnel, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses' Association will: 1. Work in cooperation with the American Nurses Association on initiatives of the national nursing agenda. 2. Monitor future state legislative initiatives regarding the use of unlicensed assistive personnel.
2002 RESOLUTION # 4
Submitted by the INA Resolutions Committee WHEREAS, The Surgeon General of the United States has released an Agenda for Children's Mental Health which outlines strategies and goals to improve the services for adolescents and children with mental health problems and their families, and WHEREAS, One in ten children and adolescents are impaired from mental illness and only one in five of these adolescents and children receive needed treatment and WHEREAS, The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry projected that the demand for child and adolescent psychiatry services will increase 100 % by the year 2000, and WHEREAS, According to the Agenda, mental health treatments are fragmented across many institutions, ranging from schools to primary care to welfare systems to the juvenile justice system, making it difficult for families to access services, and WHEREAS, The Agenda identifies that the stigma attached to mental illness interferes with identification, access and treatment of mental illness in adolescents and children, and WHEREAS, The Iowa General Assembly in the year 2000 failed to pass HF 750 which would have created a planning group to develop a collaborative initiative to improve the availability of mental health services for children with a focus on prevention and access, and WHEREAS, Articles in newspapers have identified that children in mental health care facilities are receiving inadequate, inappropriate and sometimes abusive treatment, and WHEREAS, Parity in insurance coverage for mental health care is a problem in Iowa, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses Association will: 1. Educate nurses regarding the Surgeon General's Agenda and the mental health care needs of Iowa's adolescents and children. 2. Promote on behalf of all Iowa children, the Surgeon General's Agenda and legislation in Iowa similar to the year 2000's HF 750 with parity in insurance coverage for mental health care. 3. Promote the elimination of stigma attached to mental illness.
Reference Sources:
2002 RESOLUTION #5 BY JANET WILLIAMS, Ph.D., RN, CPNP, CGC, FAAN WHEREAS, During the 2002 Iowa Legislative Session, the Iowa Nurses' Association was asked to take a position on the proposed legislation regarding therapeutic stem cell research, members of the public policy committee recognized the need to address this issue; and WHEREAS, The Iowa Legislature passed a bill that was signed by the Governor that banned all human cloning; and WHEREAS, The question regarding Iowa Nurses' Association's opinion on the matter of therapeutic research on stem cells still needs to be answered; and WHEREAS, The recently revised Code of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements has several sections that could be applicable to aspects of acquisition and use of embryonic stem cells; and WHEREAS, The nurse participates in the advancement of the profession through contributions to practice, education, administration, and knowledge development; and WHEREAS, The nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public in promoting community, national, and international efforts to meet health needs, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses Association will: 1. Promote an agenda that clarifies purposes of therapeutic cloning (producing cells to be used in therapy) as distinct from reproductive cloning (cloning of human beings) for the profession of nursing, for health care providers, and for the public. 2. Maintain sensitivity to concerns and beliefs of all parties concerned with therapeutic cloning research and potential application into clinical practice and health care. 3. Encourage identification and implementation of appropriate policies, guidelines, and oversight to support research in therapeutic cloning that has the potential to lead to treatments for life-threatening illnesses and serious diseases.
2002 RESOLUTION #6
Submitted By INA Resolutions Committee WHEREAS, Nursing schools are seeing a rebound in applicant pools, and WHEREAS, Nursing schools are unable to increase enrollment as the applicant student pool increases because of budgetary constraints in hiring faculty and lack of availability of qualified faculty, thus threatening recovery from the national nursing shortage; and WHEREAS, The shortage of qualified faculty appears to be the result of multiple factors: non-selection of academic career paths by doctoral and masters in nursing students; decrease in nursing schools offering preparation for teaching careers; salary lag as compared with nursing practice settings; academic role strain and overload; lack of personal satisfaction; and aging of the faculty; and WHEREAS, Few qualified faculty choose to teach in a non-doctoral degree granting program, although most nursing education takes place in these settings; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses' Association will: 1. Encourage and support nurses in doctoral and masters in nursing programs to select educational preparation for academic career paths and to pursue those paths in non-doctoral degree granting programs. 2. Support nurse educators as they work for equity in salary and workload both within and without the academic settings. 3. Support nurse educators at they work to balance the demands of academia regarding teaching, research, service, and practice so as to decrease role strain and increase role satisfaction.
2002 RESOLUTION #7
Submitted by INA Resolutions Committee WHEREAS, The nursing profession has moved forward in its efforts to improve the quality of nursing care through research, WHEREAS, It has long been accepted that nursing practice should be based on the best scientific knowledge available to the profession to improve the quality of patient care, and WHEREAS, The process of evidence-based practice provides for dissemination and application of research outcomes in the practice setting, and WHEREAS, A long-standing goal of the INA is to facilitate the generation, implementation, and dissemination of research in Iowa, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses Association will: 1. Encourage employers of nurses to create a climate that fosters collegial support for evidence-based practice as a valued activity. 2. Continue to promote utilization of evidence-based practice for the improvement of nursing practice.
2002 RESOLUTION# 8
Submitted by Karen Fread WHEREAS, Affordable, acceptable child care services are beyond the reach of many working parent(s), and WHEREAS, Iowa leads the nation in the percent of families with both parents working, and WHEREAS, The lack of affordable, acceptable child care resources is creating economic hardship for Iowa's families and businesses, and WHEREAS, 90% of all child care in Iowa takes place in family child care settings for which there are no enforced standards of certification or accreditation, and WHEREAS, Research shows that teenage sexual and criminal activity most frequently occurs between the hours of 4 and 6 PM, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses Association will: 1. Support access to affordable child care for well and sick children on a 24 hour basis. 2. Promote standards of certification or accreditation. 3. Promote dissemination of information on safety and health issues in child care to prevent disease and promote healthy behaviors.
2002 RESOLUTION # 9
Submitted by the INA Resolutions Committee WHEREAS, The World Health Organization predicts that between the year 2000 and 2020 one billion people will become infected with TB and 35 million people will die of the disease, and WHEREAS, There was a two percent decline in infection rates in 2001, but in recent years the decline has been seven percent, and WHEREAS, In Iowa in 1999, there were 58 cases of tuberculosis, and WHEREAS, Tuberculosis is a difficult disease to manage and eradicate because it cannot be controlled with vaccination, but must be controlled with ongoing identification, prophylaxsis, treatment and patient compliance, and WHEREAS, The populations most at risk continue to be foreign-born, homeless, nursing home residents and the immunosuppressed, and WHEREAS, Nursing continues to play a significant roles in case finding, risk identification, infection control and monitoring treatment compliance, and WHEREAS, The State of Iowa and the CDC have improved procedures and techniques to cause a decline in the number of tuberculosis infections and cases, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses Association will: 1. Continues to support adequate funding of programs to eliminate tuberculosis. 2. Continue to encourage schools of nursing to persist with a comprehensive approach to management of tuberculosis including nursing care and the public health, economic, political and social factors. 3. Reminds nurses of the important role they play in the management of tuberculosis in any health care setting.
RESOLUTION # 10
By the INA Resolutions Committee WHEREAS, Advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs), i.e. Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and Clinical Nurse Specialists, have been found to provide safe, quality care, and although progress has been made so that these registered nurses are better able to provide patients with the level of care commensurate with the nurses' education and experience, many barriers continue to impede their full practice potential, and WHEREAS, Complex and limiting regulations and lack of information on third party reimbursement frequently prevent advanced registered nurse practitioners from getting third party reimbursement for their services, and WHEREAS, Subtle barriers keep advanced registered nurse practitioners from obtaining hospital privileges to provide the services for which they are educated, and WHEREAS, Fully functioning advanced registered nurse practitioners are an asset to society at a time when quality alternative sources of care are being sought, and WHEREAS, Advanced practice nursing is the cutting edge of the nursing profession and needs the Association's full support to eliminate barriers that keep advanced registered nurse practitioners from practicing to their fullest capacity; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses' Association will: 1. Work closely with advanced registered nurse practitioners to identify and address regulatory and other changes needed to eliminate impediments to these practitioners obtaining hospital privileges to provide the care that they are qualified to provide. 2. Work closely with its members and the advanced practice nurse organizations in the state to identify and address regulatory and other changes needed to eliminate impediments to third party reimbursement.
2002 RESOLUTION # 11
Submitted by the INA Resolutions Committee WHEREAS, Founded in 1951, the Iowa Association of Nursing Students (IANS), is a strong and dynamic pre-professional association of nursing students in Iowa that support leadership from all entry level programs in Iowa leading to licensure as Registered Nurses, and WHEREAS, Nursing students in Iowa have been active in the school chapter (IANS), and national level as members of the National Student Nurses' Association (NSNA), and have benefited from the leadership development and professionalism that resulted from membership in the same, and WHEREAS, The Iowa Association of Nursing Students and the Iowa Nurses Association leaders and members have benefited from a long history of mentorship, professional and collegial relationships, and WHEREAS, The Iowa Nurses Association has extended to graduating senior nursing students, a 50% discount for the first year of membership in the Iowa Nurses Association, provided they join within the first six months of graduation, and WHEREAS, The Iowa Nurses Association and Iowa Association of Nursing Students encourage membership in IANS/NSNA first for nursing students, and membership in the Iowa Nurses Association/American Nurses Association first for nurses belonging to other professional associations, and WHEREAS, The Iowa Nurses Association has served as a pioneer with the American Nurses Association for finding leadership development roles for new nurses who join INA/ANA, and WHEREAS, Historically, the American Nurses Association House of Delegates has an average of less than five percent and often only one percent of its delegate seats held by registered nurses who have been in practice five years or less, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses Association will: 1. Applaud the commitment of nursing students in Iowa to leadership development and nursing professionalism by membership and active involvement in IANS and NSNA. 2. Support membership for nursing students in IANS/NSNA first before holding membership in other associations. 3. Continue to offer graduating nursing students a 50% discount for their first year of membership in the Iowa Nurses Association/American Nurses Association provided they join within six months of receiving their registered nurse license. 4. Explore the feasibility of at least one delegate seat of the Iowa delegation to the American Nurses Association House of Delegates be allotted to an Iowa Nurses Association member who has been a registered nurse for five years or less, to provide mentoring and leadership development to Iowa's future nursing leaders. 5. Support the development of mentoring/preceptor programs within the Iowa Nurses Association Regions that will facilitate new nurses/new members actively participating in their regions and in the Iowa Nurses Association.
2002 RESOLUTION #12
Submitted by the INA Resolutions Committee WHEREAS, There is no standardized nursing language in use in all health care settings to communicate the activities of nurses and how these activities impact patient care, and WHEREAS, There are many nursing issues such as third party reimbursement, adequate staffing patterns, continuity of nursing care and the allocation of resources that could be advanced or moved toward resolution if standardized nursing language is used, and WHEREAS, Delivery of nursing care can be enhanced by standardized nursing language that communicates universally nursing actions and patient outcomes, and WHEREAS, The Iowa Nurses Association has demonstrated ongoing recognition of the need for standardized computerized nursing language systems through resolutions passed by the INA House of Delegates. The resolutions are; 1989 #6 Development of Computerized Nursing Information Systems (NISs) In Nursing Service, 1992 #7 Computerized Nursing Information Systems, 1993 #6 Nursing Nomenclatures and National Healthcare Data-bases, 1994 #6 Guidelines on Integration of Information Technologies, 1996 #2 Workforce Data: Moving Toward Standard Classification Language, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses Association will: 1. Recognize and support the collection of the Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS) and the Nursing Management Minimum Data Set (NMMDS), as essential nursing data that need to be collected across all healthcare delivery settings. 2. Support adoption of NANDA, NIC, and NOC to support the collection of the NMDS data throughout all nursing clinical and educational sites in the State of Iowa. 3. Support the testing and dissemination strategies for implementing standardized nursing language. 4. Support the collection of nursing data to be incorporated into the health care communication system. 5. Promote the inclusion data collected in long term care settings into the standardized nursing language systems. 6. Participate in the American Nurses Association's Nursing Quality Indicators Project.
2002 RESOLUTION # 13 Submitted by Meridean Maas, Janet Specht, Geri Hall, Gwen Suntken, Cindy Haverkamp and Judy Weller WHEREAS, Iowa has the second largest proportion of persons over age 85 and the fourth largest proportion of persons 65 and older in the United States, and WHEREAS, Persons over 85 have increased functional losses and increased risk for dementia, and WHEREAS, The incidence and prevalence of chronic illnesses and disabilities increases with age, and WHEREAS, There is evidence that persons' lifestyles and health behaviors influence their abilities to remain functionally independent longer, and WHEREAS, Surveys of elders and their families repeatedly indicate their desire for autonomy and home like care, and WHEREAS, Elders need health promotion, disease prevention, management of chronic illness, and functional support services for optimal independence and quality of life, and WHEREAS, Registered nurses with geriatric training are needed to provide these health care services and to identify and coordinate needed physician, social and rehabilitative services, and WHEREAS, The Institute of Medicine and numerous systematic studies have shown that the number and skill-mix of nursing staff are often inadequate for health care programs and many long-term nursing services that are critically needed by low income older persons are not adequately reimbursed by Medicaid, and WHEREAS, The Governor has shifted regulatory oversight from the Department of Elder Affairs to the Department of Inspections and Appeals, as well as created a task force to provide recommendations to the Governor and Lt. Governor on how the core mission of the Department of Elder Affairs can be strengthened to best serve the interests of elderly Iowans, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses Association will: 1. Monitor the recommendations from the Department of Inspections & Appeals, Governor's Task Force on the Department of Elder Affairs and the Iowa Genearal Assembly and advocate for utilization of registered nurses to perform at their level of education in assessing and evaluating assisted living residents. 2. Promote the use of the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics as the registered nurses promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety and rights of the patient in the plan of care developed in conjunction with the older person which helps the older person attain and maintain the highest level of health, well-being, and quality of live achievable, as well as a peaceful death and that the plan of care facilitates continuity of care over time as the client moves to various care settings, and is revised as necessary. 3. Participate in policy-making discussions about the tenant's choice to stay in their own home or in assisted living as long as they meet the criteria for the level of care and the tenants are not arbitrarily forced to a higher level of care by unduly restrictive state regulations. 4. Advocate for the electronic use of Nursing Standardized Language as a mechanism to minimize the increasing paperwork burden in assisted living. 5. Urge the Iowa General Assembly to increase Medicaid reimbursement to home and community based services, such as assisted living to enable greater numbers of registered nurses with geriatric training to manage the care of older persons and provide leadership for assisting staff and to directly reimburse registered nurses with geriatric training for nurse case management and the delivery and supervision of nursing care to elders in home like settings.
2002 RESOLUTION # 14 Proposed by the INA Board of Directors WHEREAS, Every year over 7,900 children become addicted to tobacco of whom more than 53,000 will die prematurely because of this addiction, and WHEREAS, 23% of adults in Iowa smoke and nearly 5,000 Iowans will die from smoking, and WHEREAS, The annual health care expenditures in Iowa directly related to tobacco use is $617 million, and WHEREAS, The Iowa government Medicaid payments directly related to tobacco use is $79 million, and WHEREAS, Tobacco costs each Iowan approximately $200 in state tax dollars every year, and WHEREAS, Increasing the State of Iowa's excise tax on cigarettes by $1.00 per pack and extending the tax to other tobacco products would, by itself, greatly decrease the number of children who become addicted to tobacco and would provide at least $250 million per year in additional state revenue. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa Nurses Association will: 1. Endorse the Iowa Health Initiative, which will:
a. Reduce tobacco use by Iowa's youth and strengthen the state tobacco use prevention and control program; 2. Inform its members and the general public of its endorsement of this resolution. 3. Inform the Governor and members of the General Assembly of its endorsements of this resolution and urge members to do so as well.
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